Easy Pistachio Bread turns out sweet and moist. Made with real pistachios, it’s perfect to serve at a luncheon or tea time! Check it out!
Pistachio Bread is so good! If you’ve already tried Pistachio Cake or Pistachio Delight, then you know what amazing buttery flavor pistachio can add to dessert recipes. Thanks to the pistachio pudding mix and real toasted pistachios, there’s plenty of pistachio flavor in this bread recipe. Quick bread recipes like this one are great for a sweet treat or to enjoy in the morning for a Breakfast treat with a cup of coffee. For more sweet bread, you can make a loaf of Strawberry Bread, Banana Bread, and Cinnamon Peach Bread.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Pistachio Bread Recipe
This amazing Pistachio Bread only takes a few minutes to whisk together. Then just pop it in the oven until the top is golden brown and the center is cooked through but remains tender. You can enjoy Pistachio bread in plain slices or top it off with glaze or a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream to make it into more of a sweet dessert dish. No matter when or how you serve it, you’re sure to love this sweet bread recipe.
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces Yellow Cake Mix: The yellow cake mix gives the bread a sweet, vanilla flavor and contains a lot of structural ingredients such as flour, white sugar, and baking powder. Substituting with a white or vanilla cake mix is possible if necessary.
- 3.4 ounces Instant Pistachio Pudding Mix: Infuses the bread with rich pistachio flavor and contributes to its moist texture.
- 4 large Eggs: Serve as a binding agent, providing structure and moisture to the bread.
- 1 cup Sour Cream: Mixing sour cream into this quick bread recipe is another way to add extra moisture. It brings in additional fat and slight acidity, which helps soften the bread ingredients. The result is perfect tender, moist bread. Greek yogurt makes a good alternative if you don’t have sour cream.
- ¼ cup Whole Milk: Using milk instead of water as the base liquid ingredient in this recipe makes softer and more flavorful bread. The recipe calls for ¼ cup whole milk, which will give the best flavor and amazing moisture, but you can also use 2% milk or less if you need to.
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil: Provides moisture and helps keep the bread tender. Can be substituted with melted butter or a neutral-flavored oil like canola or grapeseed oil.
- 1 cup dry roasted Pistachios: Sprinkle roasted pistachios over the batter before baking. They add extra pistachio flavor and provide a delicious crunch that contrasts with the tender bread.
- ¼ cup coarse Sanding Sugar: Sprinkled on top of the batter before baking to add sweetness and a crunchy texture to the crust. Granulated sugar can be used as an alternative.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Mixing Bowls: Have at least two bowls on hand—one for mixing dry ingredients like cake mix and pudding mix, and another for mixing wet ingredients like eggs and sour cream.
- Whisk: Choose a whisk with sturdy wires and a comfortable grip. Silicone-coated or stainless steel whisks are durable and easy to clean.
- Loaf Pans: Use two 8×4-inch loaf pans, preferably non-stick or greased with baking spray, to ensure easy removal of the bread after baking. Consider lining the pans with parchment paper for extra insurance against sticking.
- Baking Spray: Helps prevent sticking and ensures easy release of baked goods from pans. Alternatively, you can grease the pans with butter or oil and lightly dust them with flour.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons: Necessary for accurately measuring ingredients.
How to Make Pistachio Bread
Time needed: 45 minutes.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans
Begin by preheating your oven. Then, lightly grease two 8×4-inch loaf pans with baking spray to prevent sticking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, blend together the yellow cake mix and instant pistachio pudding mix until fully incorporated.
- Mix Wet Ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, milk, and vegetable oil until smooth.
- Blend Wet and Dry Mixtures
Carefully pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Gently whisk everything together until a smooth batter forms, ensuring not to overmix.
- Pour Batter into Pans
Evenly pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
- Add Toppings
Generously sprinkle the finely chopped pistachios and coarse sanding sugar over the top of each loaf.
- Bake
Place the pans in the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Cool and Enjoy
Allow the Pistachio Bread to cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, slice, serve, and savor every delightful bite!
Can This Be Made Ahead?
Yes, Pistachio Bread tastes wonderful the day you bake it, but you can also keep it covered at room temperature or in the freezer to preserve the bread. For an easy make-ahead bread recipe, enjoy one of the Pistachio Bread loaves fresh, and seal the other to keep frozen. You can let frozen bread thaw at room temperature, then slice and serve once it’s fully softened.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store Pistachio Bread
Storing
You shouldn’t leave quick bread recipes uncovered at room temperature for more than a couple of hours, or they’ll start to dry out. To keep Pistachio bread fresh, cover the loaf in plastic wrap or put it in a ziplock bag. Keep the covered bread at room temperature for up to 4 days. Sweet bread recipes like this one should not be refrigerated, or it will lose moisture and become crumbly.
Freezing
To freeze the bread recipe, carefully wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap and tin foil or place it in a freezer bag. As long as it’s properly sealed, the bread loaf can stay frozen for up to 3 months.
Frequent Questions
As this sweet bread recipe bakes, the outer crust should have a light golden brown color, but that doesn’t always mean it’s baked to the center. To ensure that it is, stick a toothpick or butter knife in the center of the loaf. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it but without any batter.
If your pistachio quick bread recipe starts sinking in the middle as it cools, this could be because it hasn’t baked to the center. Ensure the bread recipe is done with a toothpick before removing it from the oven. It could also happen if the proportions are off in your quick bread batter. Be sure to measure the wet ingredients carefully so that you don’t have too much in relation to the dry pudding and cake mix ingredients.
While full-fat sour cream is recommended for the best texture and flavor, you can use low-fat or fat-free sour cream as a substitute. However, it may result in a slightly different texture and flavor.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces yellow cake mix (we used Betty Crocker)
- 3.4 ounces instant pistachio pudding mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup dry roasted pistachios , finely chopped
- 1/4 cup coarse sanding sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray two 8×4" loaf pans with baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the cake mix and pistachio pudding mix until combined.
- To a second bowl add in the eggs, sour cream, milk and oil and whisk well until smooth.
- Whisk the egg mixture into the cake mix mixture until smooth, don't over mix.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pans evenly.
- Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and coarse sanding sugar.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
- Click on the yield amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
- To convert measurements to grams, click on the Metric option next to Ingredients in the recipe card.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Variations on Pistachio Bread
- Cranberry Pistachio Bread: Make this sweet bread recipe into the perfect holiday treat by adding cranberries to the bread mixture. Fold in ½ cup of fresh cranberries and ½ cup of pistachios into the batter to make the perfect blend of sweet and tart flavor and crunchy texture. You can also add orange zest to go with the holiday flavor of the cranberry bread recipe.
- Cinnamon Sugar Pistachio Bread: Cinnamon is another flavor that goes well with quick Pistachio Bread. Whisk together ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons white sugar to make the cinnamon sugar mixture. Combine the bread batter as usual, but only fill the bread pan halfway. Sprinkle a portion of cinnamon sugar over the top, add the remaining bread batter, and finish with another layer of cinnamon sugar before baking. Note for a more caramelized flavor, you can use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.
- Glazed Pistachio Bread: For an extra layer of sweetness, top the Pistachio Bread recipe off with glaze. Add 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 3-4 tablespoons of milk to a mixing bowl. Then whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Drizzle the bread, and add chopped pistachios on top. Let the glaze set before slicing and serving the bread recipe.
- Green Pistachio Bread: The pistachio pudding mix adds a green color to the bread batter, but if you want to make that green pistachio color brighter, you can add a couple of drops of green food coloring to the Pistachio Bread recipe.
Related Recipes
More Quick Bread Recipes
